Ignoring Yeoreum's advice to take a break, I finished the remaining garden work.
It was more exhausting to dissuade Yeoreum, who approached to help, than the garden work itself.
"Then I'll go check on some things at the guild. You'll really take a break, right?"
"Yes..."
Though I said so, honestly, there was no time to rest.
I worked tirelessly, and when I finally finished, I opened the door to the container.
"Huh?"
Entering the container wearily, I locked eyes with Levinas, who was bound hand and foot.
I thought she had gone somewhere, but she was captured like this.
On closer inspection, her mouth was sealed with something like tape.
–Mmph!
Levinas, noticing me, struggled as if trying to communicate something.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"Um..."
It was pitiful to see her tied up like that.
Though I wanted to free her, I couldn't ignore the fact that she was an enemy of Sophia.
I couldn't just release her recklessly, it might cause problems.
I decided to leave her there until I had permission from Sophia.
'...But maybe I can at least remove the tape?'
Allowing her to speak shouldn't be an issue.
I peeled off the tape from Levinas' mouth.
Although I removed it a bit too forcefully.
Riiiip—!
"Aaagh!"
The tape must have been quite strong because Levinas screamed in pain.
Her white skin turned red.
"Sorry..."
I apologized to Levinas belatedly, but she just wriggled in her bindings, trying to escape.
I felt uneasy, thinking I had done something wrong.
"That devil! Levinas will remember what happened today—!"
"Uh..."
How should I appease this angry horned rabbit?
As I stood there indecisive, only moving my eyes, someone entered the container.
Just by the sound of the footsteps, I knew it was Sophia.
"I heard a scream. Did you remove the tape?"
"Yes... She looked uncomfortable."
"I had silenced that noisy one for a reason..."
Sophia sighed and approached us.
Levinas, seemingly trying to escape from Sophia, hopped up from her spot.
"Sophia, isn't it too much to keep her tied up like this?"
"I only bound her temporarily."
Sophia showed me a black choker.
It was not an ordinary choker, as I could feel the mana from it.
"What's this?"
"A restraining choker. It's set to explode if she leaves the guild branch."
"Wow..."
To put something so dangerous around someone's neck?
Just as I thought Sophia's actions were excessive, she moved behind Levinas and shook her head where only I could see.
She had quietly let me know that the choker wouldn't really explode.
'Just a scare tactic, then.'
I felt sorry, but since she was an enemy of Sophia's faction, I decided not to interfere.
"The moment you try to run away, it will beep. Ignore it and keep going, and it will explode, so be careful."
After placing the choker around Levinas' neck, Sophia untied the ropes binding her.
Levinas, accepting the situation quietly, suddenly sprang up.
"I am the great Levinas of the horned rabbit tribe! Do you think I will submit to such a thing?"
Levinas suddenly threw a punch at Sophia.
If Sophia got hit, she might be severely injured.
I needed to stop Levinas immediately.
Desperately reaching out to her, Levinas' fist touched Sophia's cheek before I could intervene.
Thump—
The sound was surprisingly light for a punch thrown with full force.
Sophia's expression, struck by the fist, remained utterly indifferent.
"So–Sophia, are you okay?"
"Yes. It's just a punch from a horned rabbit, after all."
"Ah..."
So, a punch from a horned rabbit wasn't painful?
I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling awkward.
'Come to think of it, Sophia managed to tie her up all by herself.'
Perhaps the physical prowess of the horned rabbit beast-kin wasn't that strong.
Of course, they must excel in other things.
"You wicked creature!"
Thud-thud-
Sophia just stood there, taking Levinas' frenzied punches.
Her weak strength yet aggressiveness attitude truly resembled a real horned rabbit.
It made a bit more sense why Sophia had bound her hands and feet.
"Gyeoul, Yeoreum wants you to come to the guild building."
Sophia spoke to me, ignoring Levinas' attacks with an utterly unconcerned expression.
"In the building?"
"Yes, she said she has something to show you."
Could it be something related to adventurers?
I nodded at Sophia and asked,
"Will it be okay to leave you two alone here?"
"...Why would there be a problem?"
Stretch-
Levinas grabbed and pulled Sophia's cheek.
Sophia's cheek stretched like sticky rice cake.
"Um..."
Well, there shouldn't be any particular problems.
Leaving the two behind, I headed to the guild building to find Yeoreum.
✧✧✧✧✧
Entering the guild building was always a nerve-wracking experience.
Especially when alone, the tension was even greater.
'Let's go inside...'
I loitered near the guild building and then seized the moment when there were fewer people at the entrance to slip inside.
Standing in the most secluded part of the building, looking for Yeoreum, the woman I had seen in the morning approached me.
"Excuse me, are you Gyeoul?"
"Ye–yes–?!"
It was the woman who had shown me a bunch of damaged mana stones.
Her name was Sang-ah, if I remembered correctly.
Just seeing her face brought back the fear I had felt that morning.
"I'm really sorry about earlier. Yeoreum told me. It must have felt like I was showing you a pile of dead bodies..."
"Yes..."
That was indeed how it felt.
I placed my hand over my heart, which had started to race again.
"Here's a small token of my apology."
She handed me a box that looked like a toolbox.
On the surface of the toolbox, a paper read 'Gardening Tool Set.'
"You really didn't have to do this."
"Please don't think of me as a bad person..."
"Ah... Okay."
It wasn't just a free gift, but a token of apology.
It seemed okay to accept it.
"Thank you. This is exactly what I needed."
"I'm glad it's helpful."
She smiled with her eyes and left, saying she had work to do.
I waved goodbye to her.
'I was just in need of proper gardening tools.'
From pruning shears to rakes for leveling the soil.
The box contained all the tools I didn't have.
Could this be enough to expand my garden?
Holding the toolbox happily, I saw Yeoreum running towards me from afar.
"Gyeoul, have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here too."
Yeoreum's gaze fell on the toolbox in my arms.
For some reason, her expression darkened.
"...Gardening tools? Are you planning to expand the garden...?"
"Yes. The lady who showed me the mana stones this morning gave it to me as an apology. Now I can expand the garden."
"Ah... Sang-ah..."
Yeoreum reached out for the toolbox.
It felt like something was being taken away from me, but I didn't resist.
"I received it as a gift..."
"Yes. It looks heavy. Let me carry it for you."
"Okay..."
It wasn't that heavy, though.
It felt like a wrapped gift was being snatched away.
But Yeoreum didn't seem to have any bad intentions in taking the toolbox.
"Gyeoul, it's good to work on the garden, but you shouldn't work yourself to the point of collapsing, okay?"
"Why...?"
"Why? Didn't I tell you before?"
She must be talking about how taking breaks can increase work efficiency.
I understood that, but with the debt I now had, it was different.
"How can I pay off the debt if I rest?"
"...Still, if it's not okay, then it's not okay. If you don't listen to me, I'll take this away, okay?"
Yeoreum waved the toolbox in front of me.
I wondered why she was being so spiteful all of a sudden, but I understood her feelings.
It was natural to worry about someone collapsing.
I decided to rest just a little, really just a bit, while working.
"Okay, I'll work only until I'm about to collapse..."
If I felt like I was really going to die, then I would rest.
As I made that decision, for some reason, Yeoreum's expression didn't look good.
"...I think I set the wrong condition."
"What?"
At my question, Yeoreum sighed deeply.
I had just expressed my determination not to work to the point of collapse as she wished, so why was she acting like this?
It was frustrating not being able to read people's thoughts.
"Let's go. Someone is waiting for us."
"Someone is waiting?"
"Yes. And we'll talk about this matter again later, okay?"
"Okay...?"
Yeoreum trudged ahead.
I watched her back as she walked away, and when some distance had opened up, I hurried after her.
<+>
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